Gathering and Unification
by Jediempress
Summary: Three men who should no longer exist come to Radiant Garden. How are they here and where's Sephiroth? Prize fic for Sokra. COMPLETE.


This here is Sokra's prize fic for getting the Jem reference in the Word piece Shadows. She said she wanted something with the Jenova boys running amuck in Radiant Garden. I hope this works.

Gathering and Unification

"You okay, Riku?" Demyx asked with a great deal of concern, carefully filing his completed notes from the prior night's city council meeting. "You seem really distracted today."

The silvered teen shrugged a bit as he forced himself to focus on proofreading Denzel's research paper again. He had promised the thirteen-year-old that he would have it corrected for him by dinner. "I am kind of distracted but I don't know why. I feel this odd tugging but it's faint. It almost feels like its coming from different directions."

Demyx frowned. "Can you usually figure those feelings out?"

"Yeah," Riku gave up on the paper for the moment and leaned back. "It almost feels like Sephiroth but it's somehow…disbursed. It started really faint but has gotten stronger as the day's gone on."

"That can't be good." The musician only knew the basics about all of the Jenova cells effects but he understood that all those who had them shared this fundamental connection to one another.

Before Riku could comment, his phone rang and he quickly answered it. "Hey, Cloud. Wait, what? How…? Never mind, I'm on my way."

He stood and closed the phone, a confused look to his features. He immediately reopened his and called someone, walking quickly for the door. After a minute, he cursed and pocketed the device.

Demyx's face twisted. "What's going on?"

"I'm not sure," Riku stepped outside, "But some guys who shouldn't exist anymore are here and creating a mess."

He barely caught the blond's 'what?' as he left and took off running down the street.

--0—0—

A block away from the Postern, Riku clearly heard the sounds of people fighting. The clashing of blades and a few gunshots rang out and he picked up speed. He halted behind a crate and peered around, trying to get a better idea of what was happening.

He did not expect what he saw.

Leon was locked in a strange duel with someone who appeared to also be wielding a Gunblade. Irvine was crouched behind a barrel, occasional rising up to aim shots at yet another man with a similar weapon. Cloud was nowhere to be seen but Riku knew he was there.

What startled Riku the most was the appearance of the two attackers. The one facing off with Leon had silver hair, the exact same shade as Sephiroth's, running halfway down his back. It fanned out as the thin man ducked to the side and locked blades with Leon. He was shoved away and rather gracefully turned, aiming a shot at the sable-haired man, which was ducked.

He nearly glided past the other adversary, a more built male with his silver hair in a short, sweptback style. This man darted forward, nearly teleporting, to try to take on Leon. He threw his arm back, the device attached to his wrist crackling to life with energy.

Irvine shot him in the shoulder and the foe cried out in reaction; Leon simply snap-kicked him, sending him skittering away. When the muscular one came to a halt, he slammed a fist against the pavement like a child throwing a temper-tantrum.

"Loz!" A young voice called down from the opposite rooftop. "Stop crying and kill him!"

_Loz_…? Riku knew that name but he still could not believe it. Sephiroth had spoken of a Loz, Yazoo and Kadaj. He had created them as living vessels of his will to locate the last of Jenova's remains. It was his understanding that they could not exist while Sephiroth did because they were each pieces of him.

Where was Sephiroth? Riku somehow knew he was all right but he could not isolate his presence. The three others were throwing him off. He assumed the voice that had called down was the third one.

The longhaired one took advantage of the distraction and took another shot, this one at Irvine who ducked behind his barrel and cursed loudly. Leon fired off a retaliation shot and risked a look back. "Come on, Irvine! Get it together!"

"He moves too fast!"

"Then go for the other one!"

Loz jumped to his feet and wiped at his eyes. "I don't want to play with these two, Yazoo."

"If we want to find our brothers, we have to get through them." The named one spoke softly and took a flying charge at Leon. The strike was easily met and the two engaged in a rapid exchange of hits, neither one letting a single blow reach its mark.

Loz steeled himself and raced at Irvine. Reflexively, the cowboy cast Stop, which paused Loz but not for long. It did give Irvine enough time to get the upper hand, jumping up on the barrel and directing a clean headshot at the muscled man. Loz recovered in time to shift aside but his shoulder was still grazed.

Riku summoned Way to Dawn and was preparing to jump into the fray when that voice from earlier called out grandly. "Brother!"

Riku looked up, as did the other four on the street. A slim man who did not appear much older than Riku stared down at him with a wide grin. Only one spring green eye was visible, the other covered by silver hair that ran just past his chin. There was definitely something disturbing about his expression.

"I knew you'd show up." The man leapt down and casually strolled over. Riku left the cover of the building and met him halfway. The other man idly swung his twin blade sword by his side. "…Even if the black sheep hadn't called for you."

"Where's Cloud, Kadaj?" Riku asked simply, certain that was who this one was. He knew Cloud had fought him before and could handle himself against him fairly well but he still worried. From what Riku knew, Kadaj was rather….insane.

Kadaj gestured vaguely above and behind him. "Oh, he's back there somewhere with the other black sheep."

Riku assumed that the remnant was referring to Zack. He was uncertain whether that meant one of them had been injured, but he did not have the time to dwell on it. Kadaj was liable to attack at any moment and without warning.

"All we need is Big Brother to arrive and we'll all be gathered!" Kadaj laughed. "Then Mother will be happy and come back!"

Riku narrowed his eyes. "Mother's dead."

"No she isn't!" Loz shouted out, looking torn between crying and attacking Riku. "She's here!"

"Who's Mother?" Irvine looked toward Leon for an explanation.

"Jenova." The sable-haired man answered, keeping a close eye on Yazoo and Loz.

"That messed up alien that made Sephiroth go crazy?"

Yazoo turned on the cowboy and aimed his gun at his head. "Do not call Mother that."

Riku kept his attention fixed solely on Kadaj, fairly certain that Leon and Irvine could handle Yazoo and Loz. Kadaj had angled his head and was regarding the teenager carefully. Riku folded his arms and waited for him to say something. From what Cloud had told him, Kadaj did not know how to shut up.

"Mother's spoken of you… you hurt her." Kadaj flicked his bangs back. There was a sad look to his eyes. "Almost as much as Sephiroth has."

"I did?"

Kadaj nodded slowly, that moment of pain fading into any angry snarl. "I would kill you just for that but we need you."

"Kadaj!" Cloud's voice called out.

The named male turned, a smirk tugging at his lips. "Took you long enough, Brother."

Zack stood beside Cloud, white wing twitching in agitation. "Where's Sephiroth?"

"How should I know?" Kadaj laughed. "He'll be here soon and then…."

"If you seriously think this is going to bring Jenova back, you are more fucked up than everyone says you are." Zack shook his head. He looked over Kadaj's shoulder to gaze at Riku. "No wonder she dumped them for you and Seph."

Kadaj snarled and launched himself at Zack. Before he made it even half-way, Riku had darted forward and cut him off. He summoned his Keyblade and blocked a wild swing of Kadaj's sword, using the force of it to shove him back.

This triggered Yazoo and Loz into action and they again moved to attack Leon and Irvine. Cloud and Zack intercepted; Cloud taking Yazoo and Zack, Loz. Cloud called over his shoulder for the other two to find Sephiroth.

Kadaj took another lunge at Riku and the teen threw himself back, the double blades passing over him. He righted himself back up and aimed a Dark Aura at the other's sword arm. As soon as it was released, Riku moved a step to the right and ran forward.

Kadaj also went right to avoid the aura and smirked as Riku approached him. He shot out his leg toward Riku's hip, which the teen spun away from. However, Kadaj anticipated this and thrust his hand out, smashing it into Riku's shoulder and sending him face down into the pavement.

Riku caught himself on his hands and flipped back up. He just caught sight of Zack flying up to meet a jump attack from Loz a good ten feet in the air. The raven-haired one grabbed onto Loz's weapon arm, somehow sending the charge outward into empty air. He then dropped the muscled man and dove after him.

Before he could look for Cloud, Kadaj was upon him, slashing madly at him with crazed eyes. Riku brought Way to the Dawn up to meet each of these and at the first opportunity, kicked the inside of his knee. This barely affected the other man but created enough space for Riku to put up a Shield, which Kadaj bounced right off of.

As he fell backwards, Cloud and Yazoo became visible. The blond was steadily striking at Yazoo, preventing him from getting any shots off. They moved down the street, passing up Zack and Loz. Yazoo suddenly turned and ran, hopping up on the barrel Irvine had been hiding behind earlier.

He jumped off of it, twisting and sailing over Cloud's head. He fired off a shot which grazed Cloud's shoulder. Even as this happened, Cloud brought up the flat of his blade and pressed it against Yazoo's boots. He threw his strength into it and sent Yazoo careening to the side.

Riku re-focused on Kadaj. He braced himself and Kadaj slammed his shoulder into his chest. He fell back with the momentum, back curling against the ground and with one foot he kicked out. It caught Kadaj in the upper thigh and Riku flipped the man over him.

He spun around as he got back to his feet. Kadaj was up almost as quickly and snarled. The two stared at one another for a moment.

"Why do you deny Mother?" Kadaj breathed out. "All she wants is for us to be together."

"All she wants is to destroy." Riku corrected, adjusting his grip on his keyblade. "She doesn't give a damn about any of us."

Something flickered in Kadaj's eyes and he abruptly turned. He threw out his arms and laughed. "It's about time you showed up."

The other two duels also stopped and everyone looked in the same direction as Kadaj. Sephiroth strolled toward them, looking unusually worn. The confidence and air of superiority was muted by a lethargic gait and a weak posture.

Zack made to go to him but Sephiroth held up a hand. The former general continued his approach and the three living embodiments of his own soul were content to simply watch him come. Each had the same curious expression.

Sephiroth passed Zack and Loz, continuing on toward Riku and Kadaj. He did not stop until he was dead center of the three pairs. He took one sweeping gaze around him before settling on Kadaj.

The lead remnant smiled at him smugly. "Something wrong, Big Brother?"

"You shouldn't be here." Sephiroth's voice did not have the same lofty arrogance to it but it was steady and confident.

"We could say the same for you." Kadaj angled his head, tone deadly serious. "You betrayed Mother."

"Is that right?" Sephiroth folded his arms casually before him. "And this is her punishment I suppose? Forcing the three of you back into existence to make trouble for the rest of us?"

"Something like that."

Sephiroth lifted an eyebrow, an almost amused smirk tugging at his lip. "You must know that we can't allow any of you to continue to exist."

Riku narrowed his eyes minutely. There was a weak pulling in the back of his mind. It felt like something was prompting him to do _something_, he just could not quite figure out what. He risked taking his attention off of Kadaj and his brother for a moment and noticed that there was something odd to both Cloud and Zack's expressions as well.

"I am, if nothing else, a self-preservationist." Sephiroth continued. "I cannot live with the three of you siphoning energy from me. So this… arrangement simply will not do."

Kadaj laughed in a crazed manner. Yazoo and Loz looked to each other in amusement. "That's what happens when you disobey Mother. She finds a way to get rid of you."

"You are aware that if I die, you all die."

That insane grin that Riku was rapidly getting tired of returned. "That's not exactly true. If the four of us join together, one of us becomes the dominate personality. Mother has decided that it's no longer you."

Kadaj whirled around, lifting his sword and pointed it at Riku's throat. "But you. You never loved Mother. We don't _need_ you or them." He motioned his head vaguely in the others direction.

Suddenly that strange tugging in his mind cleared into clear understanding. A perfect picture materialized and showed him exactly what he had to do next. It troubled him greatly but the command was so certain, so demanding…

_Trust me._

He was already obeying it. He stepped forward, thrusting out his hand and sending a Dark Aura into Kadaj's chest. He simultaneously kicked him in the gut, causing him to fly back in Sephiroth's direction. Not letting up, he continued this pattern.

Riku was only partially aware of Cloud hacking away at Yazoo and Zack bodily forcing Loz all to the same point. Two feet from Sephiroth, all three gave final, forceful attacks. The remnants slammed into Sephiroth's body and there was a tremendous flash of light.

A wave of energy rippled out and Riku felt like his brain was going to explode. Voices filled his head, screaming and spouting out horrible words. Images of terrible events and visions of ideas swam around his awareness. His heart was bombarded with an overwhelming confusion of anger, pain, joy, remorse, and love.

All these things slowly settled, bleeding out of him. Awareness came back to him and he felt someone's arms around him. When he managed to open his eyes, he discovered Cloud lying on the ground beside him. Blue eyes fluttered open weakly and fixed on him.

Panic seized Riku and he sat up, ignoring the dizziness that came over him. "Sephiroth!"

"He's fine." Demyx's voice called out. "At least, I think he is."

"What the hell just happened?" Zack managed out, holding his head as Leon carefully sat him up. "I swear my brain was going to melt."

"I wish we could tell you." Irvine was squatted down with Demyx next to Sephiroth's unconscious body. "Sephiroth told us to stay back in case things went sour to guard the town. A little while later, there's this huge flash of light and weird energy sweepin' over the place."

Cloud brushed at Riku's hair, silently asking if he was alright. Riku nodded and got unsteadily to his feet. He staggered his way over to stand beside his brother, reassured by the slow rise and fall of the older man's chest.

Cloud, Zack and Leon joined him, Cloud and Zack glancing at Riku. Riku bit his lip, answering their unspoken question. "He won out. The others…. He's completely re-integrated them."

"Good." Cloud wrapped his arm around Riku's waist.

Zack nodded, most of his weight supported by Leon. "That was him, wasn't it? Forcing us to attack."

Cloud blew out a breath. "Yeah, that was him manipulating us."

"Wow." Zack chuckled weakly. "Remind me to order him to never fuck with my head again when he wakes up."

"At least he had a good reason this time." The blond muttered.

"You all need to rest." Leon declared, shifting Zack's body a little. "And we need to get Sephiroth to Aerith and make sure he's really all right."

Demyx and Irvine began lifting Sephiroth, groaning and complaining about how heavy the man was. Once they got him mostly off the street, each slung an arm over their shoulders and began walking toward the center of town. Riku, Cloud, and Zack exchanged another brief look. Leon caught it and frowned, knowing that he was never going to really understand any of this.

Zack suddenly squeezed his arm around the younger man's waist, offering him a smile. Leon nodded once, flicking his eyes to Cloud and Riku. The couple was gazing back at them and by unspoken agreement, the four followed after Demyx and Irvine.


End file.
